Oduduwa: Through the Eyes of a Wood Carver

Abstract

History is the chronological and integrated account of relationship between man, event, person, time and places. The Yoruba history has long been at the mercy of the West due to the disinterest of the Yoruba people in the preservation and propagation of their Tradition, Culture and Religion. This has led to the publication of volumes of misinterpretations, flawed and shallow analysis of Yoruba religion for which the Yoruba could only be grateful. Oduduwa is one of the most important Yoruba Progenitor in the history of the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria. He was a powerful leader under whom the nucleus of the Yoruba race migrated into this land from their original home in Ile-Ife. He was a man of great leadership skills, understanding and repute. He is one of the most discussed Yoruba Deity with different point of view because various scholars have not come to a conclusion of who he was. Unfortunately, from our oral Yoruba traditional history there is no descriptive analysis of how Oduduwa looked like but, however, a sculptor in person of Lamidi Fakeye, a traditional wood carver, carried out a commissioned work of Oduduwa in wood carving, describing what he looks like through a story which surrounds the creation of the world. The paper intends to discuss the life of Oduduwa and a conceptual analysis of the wood carving executed in his form. The background data for this paper came largely from textbooks, articles, field work, documentation, archival records, and observation of physical artefacts.